


Night Terrors

by dcjuris



Series: Being Human [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Nightmares, No Smut, PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 13:01:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19107607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcjuris/pseuds/dcjuris
Summary: Cas' first nightmare. (These works are not in any order at all, other than the way they come to me.)This is based on a prompt from Palominopup's FB group, which I would copy and paste, but my laptop is an asshole who hates FB.





	Night Terrors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [palominopup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/palominopup/gifts).



Sam groans and throws a pillow at Dean. "I can't believe you're making me watch this!"

Dean tries to catch his breath, but he's laughing too hard. He grabs up the pillow and sails it back at Sam. "This…movie…is amazing!" he wheezes out.

"It's the complete opposite of amazing. I haven't even cracked a smile!"

"He just scraped the dog's frozen balls off the porch with a spatula! How is that _not_ funny?"

Sam rolls his eyes, grabs the remote, and hits _pause_. "If we're gonna finish this, I need more beer. Refill?"

"Always!" Dean leans back in the chair and kicks his feet up on Sam's bed as he watches Sam leave. _Joe Dirt_ is the third movie they've watched tonight, Sam sprawled out on his bed and Dean lounging in the Bunker's comfiest chair. The space is littered with evidence of their own personal style of decadence—two half-empty pizza boxes (because spinach does _not_ go on a pizza and Sam can fucking get his own if he's going to be gross), a scattering of popcorn from throwing it to each other to (unsuccessfully) catch in their mouths, and a half a bag of M&Ms from Sam's spastic freak out when the not-so-dead-guy moved in _Seven_. Sam's going to have a kitten when he wakes up to the mess in the light of sobriety.

Down time is still such a weird concept. But with the gates of Heaven and Hell closed and all the monsters in hiding, there's really nothing else to do. None of them are particularly cut out for "normal life," and it's not like this peace is going to last long enough for a picket fence and two-point-five kids. So here they are, in the Bunker, trying to enjoy life while they wait for the other shoe to drop.

Sam returns, hands him a bottle and clinks his against it. It's good to see his little brother like this. Sam's smiles come easy these days, all the way up to his eyes, and his laughter is infectious. He's lost that gaunt, grey look he had during The Trials, and he's on his way to beefing his weight and muscle back up.

Sam flops back down onto his bed and reaches for the remote.

From down the hall, Cas' voice echoes. "No!"

Dean's up in a second. He snatches his gun off Sam's nightstand—because fuck peace, he's a Winchester—and runs, Sam on his heels.

They skid right through Cas' partially open door, weapons at the ready. But there's no danger—no monster, no demon, no dickhead angel. There's just Cas, thrashing in bed, legs twisted up in his sheet and blanket.

Sam makes a sympathetic sound and moves toward the bed, but Dean stops him.

"I got it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just…gimmie a minute with him."

Sam looks back and forth between Dean and Cas like he's not sure, but he nods and shuffles out of the room.

Dean hesitates. He's been here before—been the one trapped in darkness—but Cas never has. At least not as far as Dean knows. Do angels dream? Doesn't matter. Ex-angels definitely do. He crosses to the bed and lays his hand firmly on Cas' shoulder. "Cas?"

Cas bolts up, eyes wild, arms flailing, legs kicking. He gasps and claws at the air.

"Hey, hey, hey." Dean shifts and kneels one leg on the bed. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay, Cas. You're safe."

Cas' gaze pinballs around the room before zeroing in on Dean. "De-Dean?"

"It's me. You're okay."

The ex-angel scrambles back against the headboard, attempting to tear himself free.

"Hang on, hang on. Let me help you." Dean tries to get a hold on the blanket but Cas is making matters worse with his movements. He shifts to kneel fully on the bed and lays his hands on Cas' thighs. "Stop!"

Cas stops struggling immediately, slams his eyes shut. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm—"

"Cas? Cas, look at me." He digs his fingers into the meat of Cas' muscles. "Cas! Look at me!"

Cas shudders and slowly opens his eyes.

"There we go. Okay. I'm gonna get you free now, okay?"

He nods jerkily.

Dean untwists the blanket and sheet from around Cas' legs and piles them at the end of the bed. He sits back on his heels and reaches a hand out to Cas. "You okay?"

Cas leaps at him, arms going around him in a death grip. He presses his face against Dean's neck, and Dean can feel the tears slipping silently down.

"Okay, okay. It's okay." He wraps Cas up, rubs little circles along his back like he used to do with Sam when they were kids. "It's okay. I'm here. It was a dream, Cas. Just a dream."

"It wasn't," Cas chokes out. "It _happened_."

He wonders what it was—what bad memory decided to make it's nightmare debut. Cas has a lifetime of them to choose from. "I know. I know it happened. But it's not happening _now_ , and that's what you gotta focus on, okay? It's not happening now."

Cas lets out a sob, tremors start coursing through him.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad," Dean murmurs. "Take a sad song, and make it better."

How long they stay like that, Dean doesn't know. By the time Cas sags boneless against him, drifting into sleep, Dean's legs are numb, his back is killing him, and his throat is sore.

"Dean?" Sam calls softly from the door.

Thank fuck. "Help me get him back into bed."

They ease Cas down onto the mattress together. Sam shakes out the sheet and blanket and helps Dean tuck him back in.

"He's gonna be okay, Dean. We'll get him through this."

Dean nods. "Yeah."

Sam's right. The Winchesters are a force to be reckoned with. There isn't anything Sam and Dean can't do when they work together. They've stopped the Apocalypse. They shut the gates of Heaven and Hell. They can damn well guide an ex-angel through the shitty pitfalls of Humanity.

Dean wipes a still-clinging tear from Cas' cheek. "We'll get you through this, Cas."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also a published author. If you like my writing style, check out my published works on Amazon by searching "DC Juris" - that's me. :-)


End file.
